Reusable shopping bags are quite popular these days, and anyone who wants to commit to reducing plastic waste uses one to go grocery shopping or to pick up produce from farmer’s markets. Many retailers and shop owners today even give incentives to shoppers who bring their own bags instead of using the store’s plastic packaging.

Since the trend first came to prominence, there have been different tote bag styles and designs to choose from. Customised tote bag printing is also available if you want to give them away as gifts or as a marketing item.

The most popular materials used in making reusable shopping tote bags are canvas and cotton. One reason for this is because cotton and canvas are both sustainable and eco-friendly. But understanding the difference between cotton and canvas is what leaves many buyers slightly confused.

Similarities between canvas and cotton

Cotton and canvas are both sustainable. You can find many shops patronising the use of canvas and cotton totes for packing produce and other food items. Natural fabrics like cotton and canvass produced using sustainable farming practices also ensure that only the highest quality material gets used to create tote bags.

When it comes to style, cotton and canvas are both versatile and can be customised and fashioned into different tote bag designs and sizes. Cotton and canvas tote bags are also affordable, and you can buy them in bulk to be given away as gifts.

Comparison of canvas and cotton

Cotton tote bags are the best alternative to plastic and lend well to printing. This is why you can see many companies using cotton tote bags as promotional material. When compared with canvas, the following are some of the superior characteristics of cotton:

• Cotton tote bags are smoother than canvas and make excellent gift bags.

• Cotton is washable and reusable and is also quite durable even after several uses.

• Cotton tote bags are versatile. You can use them for shopping, to carry essentials for a trip to the beach, and for storing dry goods and other products.

On the other hand, canvas is a stronger material with an excellent strength-to-weight ratio. This means that canvas totes tend to be more durable while still lightweight enough for you to carry around when running errands. One advantage of canvas over cotton is that you can carry heavier objects using a canvas bag, but will likely have difficulty doing so with a cotton tote. Other characteristics of canvas are:

• You can request to have canvas totes waterproofed or laminated to make them moisture resistant.

• Canvas can be combined with other materials like leather to make them more stylish.

• Since canvas is sturdier, it makes excellent bags for various uses such as carrying a load of books or tools and is versatile enough to be used as a casual carry-all.

Before choosing a tote bag supplier, you may also want to ask about their processes. If you want to guarantee sustainability, ask about how and where they source their materials. You may also want to ask how they minimise the environmental impact of their production facility.

Image: Unsplash.com